Author

Huynh Cong Tu

Date

2011-02-27

Description

This recording and transcript form part of a collection of oral history interviews conducted by the Vietnamese American Heritage Foundation and donated to the Chao Center for Asian Studies at Rice University. This collection includes video recordings of interviews with Vietnamese Americans native to or living in Texas. This interview forms part of the national 500 Oral Histories Project conducted by the Vietnamese American Heritage Foundation.

Abstract

Huỳnh Công Tử was born on September 27, 1960 at Cần Thơ, Vietnam. He is the 3rd oldest out of 7 children in his family. His favorite memory of his childhood is the annual celebration on May 18, the anniversary of the day the "Phat Giao Hoa Hao" religion was created. Tu's father was in the army for 16 years; after 1975, he was put into prison camp (tù cải tảo) for 2 years. Tu attended school in Can Tho up to grade 6. On April 30, 1975, he remembers Can Tho being very chaotic with people running, screaming, and trying to flee the city. He was 15 years old, and remembers seeing only 5-6 Viet Cong officers present in the city and not understanding how South Vietnam could have lost the war. When Tu's father was imprisoned, the family was struggling to make ends meet. Tu and his siblings had to work to help; Tu had to work the hardest because he was the most quick-thinking out of his siblings. After 1975, the family desperately wanted to vuot bien but did not have the money to do so. On May 8, 1978, Tu boarded a small boat of a family friend to vuot bien; he arrived in Malaysia after 3 days at sea. He remained in Malaysia for 9 1/2 months before seeking refuge in the United States through the USCC organization. He arrived in Atlanta, Georgia in early 1979. He felt very fortunate to have made it to America because out of 10 boats that departed from Can Tho at the same port that day, only 3 to 4 boats made it to land. Tu states that he fled Vietnam because there was no freedom, no democracy, and no human rights; the communist government did not care for the people. He believed that even if US forces had remained in Vietnam, it would not have successfully brought the country together. Tu asserts that there are Vietnamese people living in Vietnam did not and do not know the true nature of Viet Cong, then how would Americans understand? Tu worked for a year to provide money for family back in Vietnam before he attended high school. Today, he has a career in fishing and crabbing. In 1994, his family was reunited in Houston, Texas. Tu's wife was previously an owner of a nail salon but is now a stay-at-home mom. Together, they have 5 daughters and 1 son; their oldest daughter now has her own family. Tu's mother lives with him and his family, while his father travels back and forth from Vietnam to the United States due to business. Today, Tu often volunteers at local elections and supports Vietnamese political candidates when they run. He is extremely proud to be Vietnamese and feels extremely fortunate and proud to be a citizen of the United States. He hopes to one day see Vietnam have democracy and freedom of speech before he dies.

Publisher

Rice University

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